Groovy Flowers + Lemons = Stupendous Centerpieces!

My Bestie, Amy, who you already know from Amy’s Famous Taco Soup – is always in charge of making cute name tags for our neighborhood soirées  – love those blinged out peace signs, Amy!

More peace signs along with smiley faces, a flower power table runner, and 70’s album covers were the decor at Rainy and Trent’s ultra cool and “Mod Squad-esque” home.

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Today I’m going to focus on the appetizer portion of our annual Progressive Dinner… which so happened to be held at my house. There will be some of the decor (yes, we had a Disco Mirror Ball!) and a couple classic 1970’s recipes.

Then on Tuesday, I’ll share with you a few more recipes and the super creative decor and tablescapes from two of our dinner host homes – Let me tell you – the two featured couples know how to set a theme table!

When you imagine decorating for the ’70’s, you have a bunch of choices to throw into the mix; Peace signs, the iconic Smiley Face, Flower Power, Hippy, and Disco. So much color and a little too much fun!

I’d recently purchased a case of vintage Pop Shoppe bottles online and had planned on serving a couple of “signature” cocktails in them… but the bottle openings were too small to get the ice cubes into. So instead, they served as a centerpiece.

For the cocktails, I pulled out my crate of antique individual milk bottles – not all that easy to get ice into either, but they worked. (Note: the photo was taken prior to filling the bottles with ice or beverage.)

Here are the recipes for a pitcher of each:

Tom Collins
2 cups Tanqueray gin
1 1/2 cups lemon or lime juice
1/3 cup sweet and sour mix
1/4 cup club soda

Harvey Wallbanger
2 1/4 cups Smirnoff vodka
3 cups orange juice
1/2 cup Galliano

Both cocktails are classically served with an orange slice. Speaking of orange…

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I’ve long known that we live in a totally awesome neighborhood. For one thing, we have always had a couple of local sports celebrities who live here; an Arizona Diamondbacks/World Series hero, a Phoenix Suns basketball coach, a Los Angeles Angels/World Series star, etc. But what I didn’t know was that a few of our neighbors had connections and friendships with big-time Hollywood celebs.

Yep, look who showed up at our ’70’s Progressive Dinner last night!

Jackie!!! And she was on the arm of…

Kelso!

Yes indeed, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, at my house – for appetizers! That 70’s Show, right in my living room!!!

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Look at the crazy weather forecast! A blazing 93 degrees today and then a drop of 20 degrees by Sunday, and a lovely 73. What the heck is that?!?! 

This does not bode well for our neighborhood party, this evening.  The screenshot you’re looking at above was taken last night (Friday) at 10:00 PM, and it was still 82 degrees outside, at 10 PM!! That is seriously hot when you’re planning on wearing black polyester bell-bottoms and a long-sleeved polyester disco top!  And when you have made a lovely hanging flower arrangement consisting of delicate roses and ivy.

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As I cook up a storm today for our 1970’s Progressive Dinner, I am listening to music from the decade of my youth. Let’s see, in 1970, I was in 3rd grade and by the end of the decade, in 1979, I was graduating from Saguaro High School.

The ’70’s were not ALL disco, as most people seem to think. In fact, disco didn’t hit it really big until the end of ’75 (Donna Summers’ Love to Love You Baby) and early ’76 (Disco Inferno by The Trammps)

Here is a list of the number 1 songs from each year. As you can see there’s a mix of good old rock and roll, rhythm and blues, disco, and even a little reggae.

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What to make for a 70’s themed dinner party? The choices are endless, but are they really great choices? That depends on your level of nostalgia compared to your level of good taste!

Honestly, there were some yummy foods that were popular in the 1970’s. Quiche. Fondue. Fruity Discotheque Cocktails. OK, that’s all I got!

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I’ve shared with you several times before that our neighborhood hosts a Progressive Dinner at least once a year. You don’t remember that? Check it out HERE, Here, and HERE.

The next dinner is this Saturday night and our theme is The 1970’s.  Why the ’70’s? Because that is when our community, Equestrian Manor, was developed.

It’s a pretty fun theme – especially if you’re over 40 and remember some of it first-hand. Does this image of an avocado kitchen bring up scary memories?

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